Promise You Won't Leave
by TheOneThatGotAway99
Summary: "GO!" Leonardo shouted over the alien's outraged roars. Raphael could see Leonardo's grip begin to slip and his voice came out strained. "I can't hold it back any longer!" "Leonardo," he called as he got a last glimpse of his only big brother, before the pod shot out of the Technodrome.[2012verse post-finale; brotherly fluff; two alt endings; one-shot] "Promise you won't leave me."


_Author's Notes: I loved the TMNT 2012 season one finale. Anyone else love it? The first part of this fic I tried to copy as closely to the show as possible. However, this story has somewhat of a double ending to it. To all those wanting a (in my opinion ;D) great piece of 2k12 brotherly fluff that will hopefully leave you smiling and to stay as within cannon as possible, then DO NOT read past the aptly labeled dotted line. You will know it when you see it. If you like sweet and happy, skip the entire last paragraph. This is your only warning. I will not explain myself. But now, to all those who want to read the complete idea, have at it. . . Review if you like, tell me which you picked. Beware, I point and laugh at flames._

_Disclaimer: Seriously? Do I look like I own them? *walks out in a ratty old t-shirt and fuzzy pink pajama pants* It would be awesome if I did, but I don't. So stop rubbing it in._

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"Leo!" He yelled, watching his brother struggle with Michelangelo's kusarigama chain, the Kraang Prime yanking hard against it.

"Go! Get out of here now!" Leonardo ordered, giving the chain an extra tug.

Raphael's eyes were wide. "What are you talking about?!"

"Dude, you can't do this," Michelangelo pleaded beside him.

The Kraang began thrashing about, trying to get to the final escape pod, and the occupants within.

"GO!" Leonardo shouted over the alien's outraged roars. Raphael could see Leonardo's grip begin to slip and his voice came out strained. "I can't hold it back any longer!"

Raphael tried to jump out of the pod to get to his brother, to aid him in some way, but arms encircled him and pulled him back into the pod. "Leo!" He reached his hand out.

"We gotta go now!" Donatello announced into his ear, and Michelangelo pulled the cover down over the pod.

It took both of his younger brothers to try and restrain him as the pod began its departure. He broke Donatello's grasp and shoved Michelangelo out of his way. But his final attempt was in vain.

"Leonardo," he called as he got a last glimpse of his only big brother, before the pod shot out of the Technodrome.

The pod dropped into the ocean. As it bobbed its way to the surface, the top slid open.

"I can't believe it. We made it!" Donatello exclaimed.

Then the Technodrome crashed.

Raphael barely heard the quiet cries of his youngest brother over the voiceless screams of his own mind, silent screams of agony and grief, as he watched the ship sink below the rough waves.

Raphael's eyes flew open. He sat up, trying to shake the memory nightmare from his mind. The echo of Leonardo pleading for them to leave still reverberating in his ears.

Raphael swung his legs off his bed and silently made his way out to the hall. He hesitated outside his big brother's room. _What if he's sleeping?_ He asked himself. He didn't want to wake him up, but he had to see him.

He opened the door and saw Leonardo sitting up in bed wiping the sleep from his eyes as though having just awoken from his own nightmare.

The older brother turned to him, his gaze gentle. "Hey, Raph. Another nightmare?"

Raphael stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind him. "Yeah, same one."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just needed to. . . I-I wondered if . . . if I could. . ." his voice trailed off.

Leonardo smiled softly at him, lifting the edge of his blanket for Raphael to crawl into. Which he happily did.

He snuggled close to his big brother, head lying on Leonardo's chest, listening to the steady beat of Leonardo's beating heart under his plastron.

"Hey Leo?"

"Hmm?" Leonardo stifled a yawn.

"What you did for us . . . back on the Kraang ship . . . I just—"

"It's okay, Raph," Leonardo interrupted, wrapping his arms protectively around Raphael, who gratefully leaned into his older brother's grip. "I did what I did to protect you guys. If given the chance to do it again, I would do the same thing."

"I wish you wouldn't," Raphael grumbled against his brother's chest. At Leonardo's silence, he continued, "Don't do anything like that again. We can always find another way."

"Not always, little brother." Raphael lifted his head from the steady thrumming beat of his brother's heart, to look him in the eye in the dim lighting. He opened his mouth to speak, but Leonardo cut him off. "Getting you three and April out of danger was my only priority. If we had tried to think of a different way, none of us would have made it out. I did what I had to do, and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

His brother's gaze held nothing but love, but the truth of his words made Raphael turn away, so as not to show the fear that spoke from his own eyes. The fear of losing a brother. "I just don't want you to leave me again."

"Oh Raphael. . ." Raphael was pulled closer to his brother, Leonardo's cheek atop his head, comforting him in the close embrace.

Raphael fought back tears as he snuggled his cheek against Leonardo's warm neck. "Promise-promise me you won't leave me again. Promise me that everything will always be okay and that you'll always be here for me."

"I can't promise that, Raphael," Leonardo whispered sadly. Then his voice got its strength back, and it sent a park of hope to Raphael's heart. "But I'm here right now. In this moment, everything is okay. And no matter what, I will always be there for you."

Raphael's resolve cracked, and a few tears escaped his clenched eyes. "I love you, Leo."

"I love you too, Raph."

As Raphael relaxed, Leonardo began humming a Japanese lullaby that Master Splinter used to sing to them, and that Leonardo would hum any time one of them had a nightmare. The gentle sound and reassuring hold of his big brother soothed Raphael into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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**_- - - - - If - you - prefer - a - happy - ending - - - Read - no - further - - - You - have - been - warned - - - - - _**

The next morning, Raphael's father and younger brothers found him alone in Leonardo's bedroom, as they had every morning in the two weeks since the Technodrome crashed. In his hands he clutched the tattered blue bandana closely to his chest, the only thing they had managed to salvage from the wreckage. The only thing they had left of their leader, their hero, their brother, Hamato Leonardo.

_ Perfectus_

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_Author's Notes: You read the end, didn't you? I tried to warn you. My sister hates sad endings, so I gave this a kind of alternate ending so it would satisfy the both of us. My other sister loves it both ways._

_Anyways, I just wanted to give a few shout-outs to – what? I'm not allowed to do shout-outs? Oh. Well, um . . . then I have a few 'honorable mentions'(Which is totally not the same thing as a shout-out!), a few that I feel honor bound to mention xD Thank you to BubblyShell22 for getting me thinking about this, check out her upcoming fic All We Have is Right Now, can't wait to read it! Special mention to NokaKomi, her one-shot When I Lost You being the first Finale fic I've read so far, and that pushed me to write the idea that has been buzzing about my brain for the last few days. And a final mention to Moonsetta's Everything I Am, that for some reason I kept thinking about while writing this. Not sure why since it has nothing to do with this at all, but it wouldn't get out of my head xD Big round of applause for these lovely ladies! (Girl Power!)_

_Tell me what you think of it! Or don't, that's fine too, I guess. See you all around!_

_-TheOneThatGotAway99_


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